Steerage Party
by LauRa-ReaDinG-XoX
Summary: The RMS had everyone excited with the elegant ship while it only made her nervous with the unknown hidden in every corner. ONE - SHOT


**AN: **It's not a full story but a one-shot with Tommy and my OC- Emma. I could have written a whole story but I hate Tommy's death and don't think I could figure out a proper ending that I would like yet seem fitting. In saying that I really wanted to write another one-shot for Titanic and I love Tommy with his Irish accent.

**{Steerage Party}**

She patted her father's hand that was resting on her arm, the anxiety was curling around her stomach once again as they walked below deck to find their room. Her grip tightened on her father's hand as someone rushed passed them. "Emma, calm down my girl." The sound of her father's voice didn't have the usual effect with the new environment around her. The RMS had everyone excited with the elegant ship while it only made her nervous with the unknown hidden in every corner; she was only sailing to the other side of the world for her father.

She glanced at the third class tickets again and shuffled the small duffle bag in her hand as she moved them further into the thong of passengers. "Almost there Papa." She counted down the thirties until the seven appeared on the door plate. "This is us." Emma opened the door to find a couple chatting, their heads turned at the sound of the door. She waved shyly in greeting, anxious once again with the small space. Her father seemed content with the arrangement, not wasting time with chatting to their roommates. She placed her things on the top bunk knowing that her father would never be able to climb the ladder, allowing him to rest his bung knee with the bottom bed. The couple got up along with her father as he turned to her.

"Why don't we get some sunshine?" With the smile plastered on her father's lips she couldn't say no to the man and threaded his arm with her own to find the deck again, they had only just been there an hour or so to send the ship on its journey to the new world. She made sure to carry her book tucked in her other side; she would surely be needing it.

The halls seemed as calm as the sea; a deep contrast to earlier, the question to the whereabouts of the other passengers was top deck. She would have grown uncomfortable with the amount of people if it wasn't for the laughter of the children and the sun giving them a pleasurable heat. She bent over the rail of the ship getting a glance downwards; it made her stomach crunch at the height. Hearing the rough voice of her father, she glanced over her shoulder to see a couple of kids had attracted his attraction bringing him to the stage of storytelling. She could remember the wild stories the man had spoken about in her younger years. She clutch the book to her chest, it was one of few books their family had- a book that her mother read to her. It was probably the only possession Emma had that was once her mothers, she didn't have a locket or fine fabric of dress like the women she had served back home. She didn't need those things to make her simple life perfect, the only reason to ever entering the ship of Titanic was to find a proper job and a surgeon for her father- it was Papa and Emma, she was content with that mere thought.

She had been there for awhile with the crowd thinning as the Titanic finally made its way to America. Her father sat off to the side still talking away happily though the children had now passed to more active activities and an elderly couple sat with him. She kept her head down and nose stuck in the book while keeping an ear out for her surroundings, not letting her father wonder to far from her company.

The abrupt sound of laughter made her head snap up, sitting on the edge of the railing was a group of men, she dare say her own age by the look of their charming smiles and youth. She could feel a slight tug at her stomach, the feeling of envy stirring at their free sprits. She couldn't help but cast her eyes to her father, her reason to her sudden abrupt aging only to scold at herself for such thoughts and turn her attention back to the faded book.

It was the shiver that brought her out of her state, it run through her body like an electric shock from head to toe. Her father had gone early on to dinner with another couple of older man- he seem to be quick at making friends in his old age while the thought of new people unnerved her making her stay with her nose in a book most of the time- she was almost hesitant to leave her father in the company of others without her watchful eye, it made her feel almost lost without him around with nothing really to do except time on her hands.

Without paying too much attention to her surrounding with the thought of finding the third class dining area and her father she stood up only to feel the air knock out of her lungs and her backside to fall onto the deck. "I'm really sorry miss." She glanced up only to glance back down at seeing the fellow from this afternoon, the situation made a blush spread across her cheeks. "Let me give you a hand." Before she could reject the help, he was pulling her to her feet without must effort. "Are you alright?" Emma nodded keeping her head down as she couldn't met the young man's eyes. The tip of a rough finger on her chin made her gently face the him- the smile on his lips only made the blush on her cheeks that much brighter. "The names Tommy Ryan." His Irish accent slipped through his words.

"Emma." Her voice was so slow that Thomas almost didn't hear it.

"A sweet name, for a sweet woman." He couldn't help the grin at her blushed cheeks, the woman interested him- he had seen her through out the day on the deck. She seemed so confident with her father around but as they stood together on the darkened deck she became bashful. "Is that an Irish accent I can hear?" He decided to try and put the woman at ease as she seemed tense for a battle rather than a conversation.

"That would be right, County Wicklow." As predicted the set of conversation put the woman at ease as they spoke about a topic that she did know and was proud of. "Yourself?"

"County Clare." He tipped his bowler hat and held out an arm for her, she seemed hesitant at first before looping it through his. "Where you heading to lassie?"

"Dinner."

"Ahh they should be finishing up soon, you haven't eaten?" He would bet the woman hadn't stepped away from the book that was clutched in her other hand- the shake of her head confirmed it. "We better get down there."

As they stepped into the dining area for third class some of the nerves that Emma was feeling had died down but there was still the fluttering against her stomach. Tommy was a very easy man to talk to and he hadn't pulled the direction of conversation into anything to personal that she didn't feel comfortable about talking to a stranger- like the subject of her father. At the thought of him, her eyes swept across the room at the different people gathered around trying to find the drawn out face of her father. Tommy nudged the side of her bring her attention to him as he nodded his head in the direction of her father seated with the elderly men. "He seems alright to me." He led them the other direction making her quickly glance up at Tommy in question. "I'm not ready for you to part with me yet." He winked at her making the blush return to her checks as he sat them down at a couple with people already talking away. "Fabrizio, look after her." A dark skinned man looked up at the sound of his name before making a spare space next to him for her, with a glance at Tommy and a received nod of confidence she took the seat while Tommy travelled to the other side of the room.

She could feel the unease creeping in as everyone around the table seem to laugh and talk as if they had known each other for years instead of the one day- she could already feel her muscles tensing back up. Emma really didn't know how she let a mam talk her into coming to this table; she was felt out of her element and wished to be back in her room. She started to get up when Tommy appeared beside her with two bowls. "Dinner." He placed the bowl in front of her and made his way beside her. She was taken by surprise when he leaned forward to whisper in her ear, "No one's watching, no one's judging." A part from that bold move he didn't make any attempts, simply involved her in conversation as he properly introduced her to Jack and Fabrizio- she realised that they were the same men from this afternoon.

Jack happen to have his sketch book with him and was happy to show her his drawings- Emma couldn't believe that he had such a skill and it wasn't out there for people to see. "Have you ever thought about selling them?" The question flowed out of her mouth without thinking and Jack didn't seem to mind talking about his work.

"I'm not sure they're at that level."

"At that level? Where do you think the other artists started?" She couldn't help but express her opinion on the matter- she had seen a few pieces of work though in her view Jack was that good.

"Like everyone else, it's my passion but I can't make a living out of it." At Jacks words she felt embarrassed for forgetting that simple but important part of life- it was the main reason why most of the third class passengers were on the Titanic, looking for a new life. Her head seem to be still stuck in the book of fantasy, not like the real world.

"What about you? If you had no boundaries." Tommy's question made her stumble; nobody had really asked her that as it was mostly focused on her duty rather than her wishes.

"Like Jack said, there's a separation between passion and living." The expression on Tommy's face told her that she wouldn't get away with not answering but he left it as Fabrizio started another one of his jokes.

Her father had long gone to bed and Emma could feel the night calling to her as Tommy slowly walked them to the rooms. It was getting late into the night and yet the ship still seem to be full of life, just like the city streets. "You never did answer my question?" He ducked his head trying to capture her eyes.

"Which was?" She knew exactly the question he was referring too though Emma couldn't help but feel embarrassed yet again for her wandering mind.

"If there were no boundaries, what would you do? What do you _dream_?" Her feelings were shown as a blush crept up her neck, fanning her cheeks at such a personal question.

"It doesn't matter, I care for my father and that's-"

"It does matter! Don't let anyone tell you other wise." Emma admired the passionate words, his tone showing his true feelings towards the subject. "If people didn't have _wants_ or _dreams_, we wouldn't go anywhere." He leaned forward towards her as if telling a secret. "We wouldn't be on _this_ ship if people didn't reach out." Tommy stepped in front of her stopping their journey down the corridor as his intense eyes searched Emma's face. "What do _you_ want?"

This time she didn't feel foolish, her childhood dream swimming around her mind to the point that she didn't think as the words flowed out of her mouth. "When I was younger, Papa and I were down the street where we saw one of those street performances." She glanced up from her hands seeing that she had Tommy's full attention before looking back at her chipped finger nails. "The woman wore colourful dresses, nothing like I've ever seen before but it was their feet. They moved so swiftly and graceful that I felt like I was in a trance the whole time." Emma could clearly remember the feeling of happiness, her cheeks hurting from smiling as she watched the women perform. She never saw them again on the streets but the memory was forever buried in her mind. "I wish I could be like them." It came out as a whisper and Tommy answered her with the same volume.

"Why don't you?"

His words were innocent enough but the blush returned to her cheeks. "I haven't actually gone out and danced." When she became the age, she had more pressing matters at hand like the health of her father and earning enough to put food on the table.

"We'll have to do something about that." To emphasis his words, he held her hand and the other went to her waist before he had them travelling down the corridor in small circles. The twirling sent a smile to her face; it was effortless as he had complete control of their steps.

They came to a stop outside a door that she realised was her room as she could hear the other passengers voice along with her father's heavy tone. "Good night My Lady." He kissed the top of her hand, a cheeky grin across his face as he looked up at her.

"As you kind Sir." The gaze in his eyes made her feel nervous, making her feel younger as she couldn't help her own foolish grin to spread across her face.

"I'll see you soon." He straightened up and made his way back down the corridor to the deck with a small bounce in his step and Emma swore she could hear a faint whistling tune.

Emma spent the next day with her father, she loved the man dearly but she couldn't help wish it was another in her presence. She couldn't get the image of his cheeky smile or Irish accent, the way his curls would bounce back when he ran his hand through it. She did get distracted at times with her father, she had noticed that his limp was slightly worse which meant to was sorer than usual and in the four walls of their room he had gotten a dry cough through the night. She tried not to dwell on the thought of her father getting sick on the ship and not making it to America, it was just a thought that she didn't want to over think - what would she do if anything was to happen to her Papa?

That night she stayed in the room with her father on the top bunk reading her book, she felt the itch to leave and go looking for her new friends but the worry that was stitching into her at every cough from below her made Emma stay in the confinements of the room.

She hadn't heard the light tapping of the door, only noticing when her father groaned at the pop of his hips and answered the door. Standing on the other side was Tommy Ryan dressed as he was last night without his bowler hat present. "May I help you lad?" Tommy stuck his hand out towards her father; she wasn't quiet sure how Papa would react as she never really had any of the men back home present themselves to him. "Tommy Ryan Sir, I was wondering if I could have the pleasure of taking your daughter to a dance." Emma's heart flickered at the invitation and the mention of more dancing, sitting up in her bed she waited for Papa's response.

"You're the lad my daughter had been dreaming of?" Papa looked the length of Tommy, she wasn't sure for what exactly. She tried to hold her blush back at her fathers words- she didn't think her wondering thoughts had been that noticeable. "She's under your protection; I find a mark anywhere on her and you'll regret it." She didn't quiet know what to think of her fathers response, she wasn't sure if the old man still had a fighting punch in him.

"You have nothing to worry about her Sir."

"It's Henry Rowe." Her father finally shook Tommy's hand before turning his attention to his daughter watching over on the top bunk. "What you waiting for my girl?"

Emma let her happiness be known with a bright smile and climbed down the ladder, slipping her boots on and grabbing her throw over before joining the men at the door. "Thank you Papa."

"Just have a good night for the both of us." Before he shut the door Emma caught the sadden expression that flashed across his face - was Papa and Ma like this at her age? The question pondering her mind until Tommy threaded his arm through hers and started their way down the corridor, she noticed they didn't make their usual turn to the deck.

"Where are we going?"

"I told you, dancing." The light shining in his eyes made an excited rush through her veins as they made their way further into the corridors of the third class.

It didn't take long for the music to reach her ears as Tommy opened the doors and led them down the steps. She had never seen anything like the scene before her, every inch of the place was covered with people singing, dancing and simply enjoying the moment with the smoke swirling with their voices. The sound of the drums and guitars seem to carry them closer and than she heared the bag pipe ringing through the air as they reached the last step, her smile grew at the sweet sound. She finally took her eyes from the crowd and faced Tommy who was watching her intensely. "The bag pipe?"

"Its not true music without a bit of Irish." Emma couldn't believe the moment, it felt somewhat like one of dreams but the pressure on her arm from the man beside her proved otherwise. He started to tug them in the direction of Fabrizio and the blonde woman she had learnt the name of the other night, Helga. She could only describe the couple as 'cute' though she found it somewhat unusual that a man from Italy and a woman from Norway would find themselves in each others company - it just showed how grand the ship of RMS is.

There at the table with two Swedish men, they seemed polite enough she couldn't exactly make out what they were saying with their strong accents though Tommy seem to have no trouble as he accepted a beer from one of them. "Do you mind?" He nodded his head to the card game, "Just one shot to get these buggers off my back then I'm all yours." She nodded in response and took the seat beside him, she wasn't quite sure _what_ game they were playing as each man randomly slapped cards down, some yelling at the other players.

She watched for a moment before her attention was turned to the bag pipe, it felt like a life time since she had the pleasure of enjoying the instrument. Her eyes watched each player until they came across a man in the band with a pair of spoons tapping against his thigh and hand. She leaned sideways to whisper to Tommy, her eyes still watching the fast movement of the mans hands. "Is that the spoons?"

"That it is sweeheart." That was some else she had seen on the streets on some mornings when she collected a loaf of bread from the bakers - man sitting on the ground, tapping away while others may join him with their tap dancing.

She almost missed the couple that danced passed her if it wasn't for the red and black dress that caught her attention. She didn't know who the woman was but the man was Jack. "That is Rose." Tommy threw his arm around her shoulders, his eyes following the pair. The acid that filled her stomach surprised her, she wanted Tommy to look at her _that_ way.

"I bet you the lady here hasn't ever." Emma's eyes snapped to the men in front of her. It was the man with the brown bowler hat that had spoken, the challenge shining in his eyes.

"I haven't what?" The tone of her voice made the men's eyebrows itch higher.

"You ever smoke a cigarette young lady?"

"I have." From the corner of her eye, she saw the corner of Tommy's mouth lift up into a smirk and she was positive that he knew the truth. She didn't know what made her act, maybe it was the disbelief on the men faces, she grabbed the cigarette hanging out of Tommy's mouth and brought it to her own. She didn't quiet know what she was doing as she took a heavy drag on the cigarette and that was proved as she went into a small coughing fit, small chuckles sounding around the table.

"Lighter drag next time." Said Tommy as he took his cigarette back from her shaky hands. "I think its about time we danced." Without waiting for further response he was pulling her onto the dance floor.

Her feet were almost clumsy at the idea of dancing- she'd love to give it a go but she really didnt have the balance for it. "I don't know the steps." She gripped onto his hand, the other on his shoulder as if it was a lifeline.

He pulled her closer than they were the other night in the corridor. "No one does." Their bodies almost touching as he started spinning them around. "Don't think, just _feel_." She did exactly that, watching his face spark with happiness and heart thumping in her ears with excitement.

She hadn't even realised the song was over until the clapping started, Emma had been so intensely focused on the man in front of her and the emotions thrusting through her body that everything had slipped into the background.

Tommy moved his head to the side, her eyes focusing on the curl against his cheek. The action made her realise just how close he was. A devilish smirk crossed his face, "I'm going to kiss you now."

The bold statement made her cheeks flare up, her nod somewhat jerky at the nerves and excitement blending through her body. He was slow, giving her plenty of time to pull away before the soft pressure of his lips melted into her own. He pulled her into him, leaving her ready and willing at the emotions he caused in her. She opened her mouth and his tongue slid inside, gentle first and then growing urgent, sending waves of heat all the way to her toes. She moaned and slipped her hands into his hair, pulling him closer.

Before anything could go further, Tommy pulled away, a new glow in his eyes as he watched the heaving of Emma's chest. She lightly pressed her fingers to her lips, the sudden passion that had swept through her frightened Emma to an extant, she had never felt such a thing for man. "What now?" Tommy's voice threw her off but her eyes didn't stray from his lips wishing she could touch and taste them once more.

"Again?" At the cheeky grin on his face, he knew what she was implying. He had turned this bashful woman into a strength of passion, it grew in her each time he showed her a new experience. _Instead_ he took her by the arm and started the steps all over again, denying them both what they wished, for the moment.

"I told you, dancing."

"We'll have to do something about that." To emphasis his point, he grabbed her hand and placed the other on her waist, he started leding them down the hall in small circles. A smile grace her lips at the twirling, he was in complete control in the simple steps with his powerful hands keeping her balanced.

They stopped outside her room, she could hear the voices of the passengers along with her fathers deep tone. "I'll have to leave you here My Lady." He gave a bow with the cheeky smirk.

"Thank you good Sir." Her own expression matched Tommy's and in that moment she felt younger than she had in years at the pure enegry that surrounded the man in front of her.

"I'll see you around." He kissed the top of her hand, the simple move making her nerves as he stood up straight and started his way back to the deck with a bounce in his steps.


End file.
